


Breadcrumbs

by Meilan_Firaga



Category: Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Drunken Shenanigans, Implied/Referenced Sex, M/M, Wall Market (Compilation of FFVII), Wall Market Wedding, Woke Up Married, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:00:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26185333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meilan_Firaga/pseuds/Meilan_Firaga
Summary: When Rufus Shinra climbs to consciousness after a wild night he's got a pounding headache and a ring he doesn't recognize on his finger. He doesn't recognize the man in his bed wearing a matching ring either, but he's already pretty sure he's not ready for divorce.
Relationships: Rufus Shinra/Cloud Strife
Comments: 17
Kudos: 163
Collections: Alternate Universe Exchange 2020





	Breadcrumbs

**Author's Note:**

  * For [psychomachia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/psychomachia/gifts).



There are a number of ways most people expect to spend their first day of married life. Traveling to a spectacular honeymoon destination. Bickering playfully over whose clothes belong on which side of the closet. Lounging naked in bed with no plans beyond shared pleasure. Napping off the exhaustion from being the stars of the overdone event populated by every annoying relative in both family trees from the day before.

Introducing yourself to your spouse for the first time so the two of you can work together to figure out how you wound up with rings and legal paperwork isn’t a typical list item.

Not that Rufus was opposed to an atypical start to a marriage, but the painful pulse behind his eyes was less than ideal. The light peeking in through the curtains had the over-bright, clinical quality he knew came from the sun lamps on the underside of the Plate, which meant the cheap metal band on his finger was a Wall Market purchase. While the plate had a number of places that would do up a marriage in the wee hours of the night, the Sector 6 monstrosity of neon and hedonism was the only spot in the slums for a quick drunken ceremony. It was also the only spot below the plate where he could always find a decent place to crash after a bender.

A bender was clearly what he had gotten himself into the night before. He could remember slipping out the back of SHINRA Tower after an argument with his father. He’d changed into something a bit less conspicuous than his usual white suit, ditched his security team, and headed straight down to Sector 7. That was where everything got pretty fuzzy. The buxom owner of the Seventh Heaven bar didn’t skimp on the booze in her cocktails—part of why he preferred her establishment—and she always made sure his glass wasn’t empty for long. Normally he liked it that way. When he woke up in the bright light of morning to find himself wearing a ring and staring across the pillow at the back of a head of spiky blonde hair he was a bit less enthusiastic. 

Although, if he were being perfectly honest, he’d woken up next to far worse specimens after previous wild nights. There were some bedfellows during his last trip to Gold Saucer that had actually made him consider cutting back on party nights. At some point in the night they’d kicked and pushed the sheets so that they were bunched over the middle of the bed. He had a perfect view of the entire back of his new husband’s torso, and it was a pleasant sight. From shoulders to narrow waist the other man was all defined muscle and smooth skin. Based on that alone Rufus was pretty sure he’d have at least struck up a conversation even if he’d been completely sober. The other man began to stir, all those delicious muscle shifting as he grumbled his way to consciousness.

“Good morning,” Rufus murmured, in no particular hurry to leave the comfort of the sheets. The man started at the sound of his voice, freezing briefly before he twisted to look back at the SHINRA heir. Two pairs of mako blue eyes met and held. “Oh my. A SOLDIER. I have good taste.”

“Rufus Shinra.” A faint blush colored his companion’s cheeks. He rolled over completely to face Rufus, and in the process seemed to notice the band on his left hand for the first time. His eyes grew comically wide.

“Yes,” Rufus explained with a small smirk, “it appears we had our happy nuptials sometime in the night.” He wiggled his own hand in evidence, the small gold band blinking in the light.

The other man rolled to his back with a groan, his hands coming up to rub at his face. “Fuck.”

“You are correct,” Rufus assured him with a chuckle. “I’m sure we did.” He watched as the other man lifted a hand off his face just far enough to shoot him a venomous glare. There was a flutter deep in his chest at the sheer amount of sass in that glare… Butterflies. He loved finding people that could give as good as he did with the verbal sparring. If it kept up he might just have to stay married. “You know, it’s rude to keep your spouse in the dark about certain personal information, especially when that important information is your name.”

“It’s Cloud.”

“No surname?”

Cloud snorted. “Apparently Shinra.”

“Oh, well played,” Rufus laughed lightly, his headache almost forgotten with the giddy sensation of a good back and forth. “Well, Cloud, I don’t suppose you have strong memories of last night?”

“No.” Cloud shook his head, but he rolled back over to face Rufus. “Tifa promised me strong drinks. Looks like she delivered.”

“She always does,” Rufus agreed. He frowned suddenly when Cloud looked at him from beneath his lashes, a flash of  _ something _ niggling at the back of his mind. A memory rose up, nothing more than a brief picture, but enough to give him a hint of how he’d wound up in this state. He saw Cloud from across a table in the corner of the bar giving him that same look over a glass full of amber liquid. He knew himself well enough to know that the combination of that look with drinks and the right atmosphere would wreak havoc on his libido. It had the strangest hint of innocence that roped him right in, and he very suddenly wanted nothing more than to see whether or not he could keep getting that look thrown his way. “I have a proposition for you, my darling husband,” he purred.

“Why do I feel like I’m not going to like this?” Cloud asked, his eyes narrowing.

“I’m hurt by your lack of faith.” With smooth motion, he moved enough to prop himself up and managed to shift the sheet just far enough that he was a narrow margin away from serious exposure. He watched with barely contained glee as Cloud’s eyes flicked to the trail of pale hair running down from his navel. He smirked. Reciprocated interest was the best kind. “As we seem to have gotten ourselves into this particular predicament together, I think we should work together to sort out our memories.”

Cloud cocked a skeptical eyebrow, but he didn’t seem very inclined to argue. “Most people would say the first thing we need to do is find a discrete divorce lawyer.”

“I’m in no hurry,” Rufus smirked. He had him. “Married life intrigues me.”


End file.
